In a message dated 2/26/2006 6:58:19 PM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: So I guess I am asking why it matters whether or not breastfeeding is "medicalized" as long as the outcome is an exclusively nursing baby. Dear Friends: Medicalized breastfeeding is run by fear and schedules. Medicalized breastfeeding is manifested in the mothers who are sent home fighting with their babies: fighting to make them fed every 2 hours (this includes setting and alarm and waking up to wake up a sleeping baby), fighting to make the baby latch by pushing the baby's head onto the breast and/or ramming the breast into the baby's mouth, and strictly following some rules. Mothers have been told they 'must' drink 2 glasses of water at every feed. They must nurse X number of minutes on this breast and X number of minutes on the other. They 'must' nurse both breasts every feeding. They 'must' use a variety of positions for breastfeeding. These are all parts of medicalized breastfeeding. Just as medicalized childbirth says that a mother 'must' dilate X centimeters every Y amount of time, medicalized breastfeeding is full of musts. And if the musts are not followed, then the mother is doing it wrong and feels bad. Medicalization takes the power away from the mother and baby and keeps it in the hand of the person giving the rules, the musts. Of course, this approach does wonders for my private practice........... warmly, Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE Maternal-Child Adjunct Faculty Union Institute and University Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human Lactation www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html